The Mass Spectrometry Core will provide the powerful tools of modern mass spectrometry to DPPG investigators. Quantification of both lipids and oxidized amino acids by GC/MS remains a mainstay of the Core. The Core will also permit structural identification and quantitation of high density lipoprotein (HDL)- related biomolecules, including apolipoprotein A-l and serum amyloid protein. Over the past two years, Core personnel have also become proficient in 2-dimensional liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization- MS/MS analysis (shotgun proteomics) of complex biological mixtures of proteins, and we anticipate that all investigators will take advantage of this capability in the next funding period. In addition to providing instrumental capabilities, Mass Spectrometry Core staff will provide consultation and collaboration on the application of mass spectrometry to the DPPG research program, and this will include development of new analytical methods targeted at achieving research objectives of DPPG investigators. The Mass Spectrometry Core will optimize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness through which these services are provided to DPPG investigators by providing a central laboratory. This avoids the need for individual DPPG investigators to maintain the required instrumentation in their own laboratories and avoids the high cost of commercial mass spectrometric services. By centralizing and standardizing procedures, the Mass Spectrometry Core will provide a common set of analytical tools that will lead to a unified understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in physiologic and pathophysiologic processes of diabetic vascular disease.